From the moment I saw this task I knew I had to do it because Dream Boxes are one of my most favorite things. Granted, I had no idea what exactly a dream box was. But even so, I knew I loved them.
I've got a thing for boxes, the way they creek when they open, that definitive sealed sound they make when they close, the way they protect and conceal and shelter the things we consider special enough, or chaotic enough, or vulnerable enough to put in them. Things seem more sacred when they're kept in boxes. And the more special the box looks, the more marvelous the contents seem.
I wanted to make boxes worthy of holding dreams, of holding scrap paper reminders of childhood hopes, or rings from past lovers, or pennies found on the ground during truly lucky days. I wanted them small and easy to hide, built of sturdy wood frames with silver hinges and clasps. I wanted them to shimmer and sparkle and reflect and reflect. I wanted magic boxes.


I started with these:
They were on clearance. Apparently they were meant to hold paperclips which sounds terribly boring to me.

And with the addition of a few items: marble stars, chalk, stamp dust, metal hinges, broken mirror, light bulbs, stone egg, glitter (of many colors), felt, embroidery floss, metal clasps, metal feather, torn up maps, crystal quartz (of many colors), film negatives, glass bottles, mica, agate, oversized marbles, pendants, paint, obsidian arrow head, carved bone, sparklie gold rock, soldering iron, old photos, beads, paper bag, sharpie, glue, modge podge, and several weeks of my free time, these paperclip holders were transformed into dream boxes.

Dream Box 1


Dream Box 2:



Dream Box 3:


Dream Box 4:


Dream Box 5:


Dream Box 6:

Dream Box 7:


In each one there is a note, written on torn paper bag and placed inside a small glass bottle or written inside a small cloth book that says, "what is your heart's desire?" I figure that is where dreams come from.

I deviated a bit in completing the second part of this task. It says to have a friend choose one. Though most of my friends would be quite happy to choose and receive as a gift a dream box, it would not be so out of the ordinary for me to make such an offer. I wanted to offer up the choice to someone I did not know so well, someone who might be more surprised and affected.
I chose a co-worker, someone I barely interact with and who I know so unwell that I always want to call him Charles even though that is not his name. Even though I hardly know "Charles," he always brightens my day when I see him. He has this sense about him, that of a truly good person, someone who is kind and worldly and intelligent and open to people. He has made comments about my aura and about my inner beauty being apparent, and not ever in a creepy sort of way.
So I brought the boxes to work and near the end of lunch break I laid them out of the conveyor belt where he works:



I asked him to choose one. He asked if he should open them and I told him that was up to him. He didn't. Instead he slowly ran his hand over the top of each one as though he was getting a sense of each one's energy.

And then he chose one.

When I told him it was his to keep he was at first surprised, then seemed quite honored. He thanked me many times over and kissed my hand and told me they were beautiful, his especially.
During the process about 6 co-workers had gathered around to see what was going on. They seemed very excited about the boxes. Within 10 minutes of returning to my office with the remaining boxes, 3 co-workers who had not been in attendance came in asking to see and touch the boxes. And this continued throughout the day, even with people who speak little or no English and thus do not interact with me much at all coming by to look at them. It made me realize how few out of the ordinary happenings occur at my workplace, and how amazingly strong the pull seems to be for people toward things, magic or not, that are strange and sparkly and inexplicable.